Savigny Historical View Of The Law

Savigny entered a historicism law claim at the very moment when nature law isunparalleled in the world, established historicism legal view and initiated historicalschool of law. The main contribution of Savigny to historicism law is his opinion of lawstemming from the new perspective of national ethos and his statement of cautiousnotification and theory of legislation.He believes that laws are derived from nationalethos and the development of law is a consistent, irrational and organic process which isnot affected by human consciousness. The evolution of laws commonly goes throughthree stages: customary laws, academic laws and code laws, during which jurists play avital role, so laws possess double life of politics and technology. He sated up strictcriteria and requirements for codification and stated in detail by using Roman law andthree civil codes of the day as positive and negative examples. Savigny provided a newperspective for human to understand laws, and he sorted out and organized Romanprivate law intensively and profoundly. This is of great significance for the constructionof modern times Civil law discipline system, and his thoughts had no doubt a profoundand widespread influence. The thesis is trying to analyze the life of Savigny, hispublications and historical background in order to seize the origin of his thoughts and itsforming process, to master the core content of his main works and to interpret anddemonstrate major content of Savigny`s historicism notions from the following fourangels--historical law research method, view on nature of the national ethos, theory oflaw evolution and legislation view of conservatism. The article reveals the great valueof thoughts of Savigny and the historical limitations as well, from which people are ableto take inspirations of study of law, legislative activities and judicial practice in China.